Top finish completes strong weekend for D’Alberto

Tony D’Alberto took a big leap forward in Race 2 at Hidden Valley today, reaching as high as 12th before finishing the race in 15th position. An unlucky set of tyres in Race 3 put an end to any chance for a further gain in position, but the misfortune wasn’t enough to overshadow what has been a great weekend for Rod Nash Racing.

D’Alberto got away to a strong start in Race 2, reaching 12th by lap 2. The #55 Bottle O Commodore delivered on performance, powering through the Hidden Valley circuit under D’Alberto’s steady guidance.

The team chose to pit at the opening of the pit window with the car reinserting in midfield. D’Alberto was a man on a mission and quickly sliced his way back through the field to once more circulate within the top 15 cars. He dropped back slightly in the closing laps after a race restart but kept a firm grip for a solid finish.

The team headed into Race 3 with the same car set-up that had served so well in earlier races, however a change of tyres caused one big headache for D’Alberto. A lot of issues surfaced and the characteristics of the car totally changed. It wasn’t long before the situation dissolved into trouble and another car made contact, turning D’Alberto around and removing the front spoiler. D’Alberto tenaciously persisted but the missing spoiler created a lack of down-force, causing further havoc with the car’s handling. D’Alberto managed to coax enough from the car to complete the race in 23rd.

It was a great weekend highlighted by a strong effort in qualifying with D’Alberto producing very competitive lap times and rolling that success through the races that followed. It was an exceptional performance from a driver who’d never raced the circuit before. The trials of Race 3 were easily outweighed by the good results enjoyed across the rest of the weekend. The team’s next stop on the V8 Supercar calendar is another northern adventure with Ipswich playing host to three races from July 18.

Copyright © Rod Nash Racing 2008

Click here to open a Flash gallery of photos taken at Darwin.